Drifters
by Kingstriker
Summary: One-shot. Sheriff has started to lose his touch with catching speeders lately and is met with disappointment when he fails to capture the Notorious Tuner Gang by himself due to a drifting failure. Realizing he hadn't mastered the late Doc Hudson's style of drifting, McQueen and Mater agree to help him out, all while trying to keep control of their double-date with Sally and Holley.


**_FINALLY! I get to do a Cars fic, something I've been wanting to do for years but could never figure out a good story for it! I'm actually a major Cars fan and it's my favorite movie franchise of all time, not just for Pixar. I don't care what anyone thinks, I'm proud to be an adult and love the Cars franchise to death. So yeah unlike some people, I actually loved Cars 2 and the Planes movies. I'm really excited to see Cars 3 this summer!_**

 ** _This story will take place between Cars 2 and 3 and may mention events from the video games (Cars, Mater-National, Race O' Rama, Cars 2), the Cars Toons TV series (Mater's Tall Tales Tales From Radiator Springs), books and comics. And I already have a planned sequel to take place after Cars 3 and its video game as well. Anyways, ENJOY!_**

Drifters

Yet another hot day for the town of little ol' Radiator Springs, but everyone there was used to it. On very hot days they didn't get too many customers, but that was fine. Currently most of the residents were gathered at Flo's V8 Cafe for some drinks and conversation. The only ones not present were Sheriff, Sally, Mater and of course the famous Lightning McQueen.

"Yo man, does anyone know where they went this time?" Ramone asked raising on his hydraulics to look around.

"Haven't seen them." Filmore said.

"Nope, still missing in action." Sarge said.

Luigi, Guido and Red just shrugged.

"Wait who are we talking about again?" Lizzie asked looking around.

"The others. I bet they're at Willy's Butte again, whoo, it's way too hot to be racing out over there." Flo worried.

"It's not the first time." Sarge said.

"True." Mack nods.

Over at Willy's Butte, Sally and Sheriff were watching as Lightning and Mater raced around the dirt track, Lightning of course taking the lead. They were just about to drift around the tight bend.

"Just watch this Mater! This will be a clean drift!"

Lightning sped up as he got closer and began to turn and drift, staying completely in the whiter area and drifting perfectly around. Mater laughed as it was his turn and made the turn successfully while laughing. It had been their 3rd lap and they had decided they were done.

"Boy does it feel good to get that turn right!" Mater cheered.

"Tell me about it...at least you guys are willing to do this with me." Lightning sighed.

He was trying hard not to think about Doc Hudson, knowing he'd never get to race with him ever again. Changing the subject, he turned to Sally.

"Alright Sally you're up!" Lightning said.

Sally looked at him in surprise, she thought she was just there to observe.

"Uh me? I mean I can drift but...it's been awhile." Sally winced.

"Come on it's okay! You'll do great, I'll have Mater here stay by the cliff just in case." Lightning said.

"You got it buddy!" Mater nodded.

Sally couldn't stop Mater who raced away leaving her with a smirking race car. Sally knew he wasn't going to let her go so easy so she rolled her eyes and slowly moved towards the track.

"Okay Stickers I'll try it this time, but if I get one piece of cactus on me you'll regret it." Sally sneered.

But Lightning only chuckled.

"Whatever you say Sal."

Sally got ready to drive and did a burnout before peeling down the dirt track. Lightning decided to follow behind and comment.

"You're doing great Sal, keep it up!"

"Ugh."

Sally cleared the first turn and was coming up fast on the tight turn where Mater happily waved his hook in the air. Sally decided to ignore him and focus on the track, right on time she twisted and drifted around the turn with no problem. Mater whooped while Lightning raced over to the finish line before Sally and blocked her path.

"Nicely done! It's almost like Doc taught you himself." Lightning said.

"You think so? I don't know, it could use some more work."

"No no it's true! Besides, it's extremely easy once you get used to it. Heh, I'd like to see you all try this at night."

"Oh I don't think so Stickers."

Lightning then turned to Sheriff who had fallen asleep.

"Yo Sheriff, ready to try it?"

"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!"

"I think he's fallen asleep again." Mater said.

"As usual." Sally chuckled.

Mater then remembered something and began to drive away.

"What's the hurry Mater?" Lightning asked.

Mater quickly spun around.

"I completely forgot that Holley's coming back into town for a date. She could be here soon so I need to clean up my yard!" Mater said.

"Hey you never said-"

"NO TIME!"

Mater raced off panicking about the mess in his yard leaving Lightning and Sally to deal with a sleeping Sheriff, or so they thought. Suddenly a bunch of honking and yelling could be heard from downtown.

"What's going on?" Sally asked.

"It's probably those tuners again, SHERIFF WAKE UP!"

But Sheriff didn't, so Lightning revved his engine loudly startling the old cop.

"WHAT? HUH! What happened?" Sherif asked.

"Trouble in town, let's go!"

The three back towards town where Lightning's suspicions were right, the troublemakers Boost, DJ, Wingo and Snot Rod were racing around town knocking over random cars and leaving skid marks all over the road. All the town residents stayed out of the way as Sheriff immediately began to take action.

"YOU CRAZY DELINQUENT ROAD HAZARDS, GET OUT OF THIS TOWN!" Sheriff yelled.

The tuners laughed as they tore down the main road, Snot Rod trying to hold back a sneeze. Mia and Tia were nearly hit as they were cruising down the road, luckily they swerved off and bumped into Lightning who blushed.

"Hey Lightning!" They purred.

"Hey girls." Lightning groaned.

Boost, being in the front, sped up and eyed Mater's Junkyard.

"Yo guys, let's tear up that towtruck's place!" Boost suggested.

The others agreed, however that would turn out to be a big mistake. As Boost headed for a support beam of the shed, a large electric net came down from inside and trapped Boost inside of course electrocuting him.

"AUGH!" Boost yelped.

The other three stopped and gasped.

"BOOST MAN!" Wingo yelled.

"WHAT THE?" Snot Rod yelled.

"SCATTER!" DJ yelled.

The three raced away leaving a panicking Boost behind. Sheriff barely had time to dodge when the three came racing backwards, Snot Rod accidentally rammed into Sheriff knocking him back into a pole. Dj and Wingo booked it back down the opposite way towards town while Snot Rod took off to hide. Several cars took chances to try and knock the two off the road by trying to hit them or put stuff in their way, but the two managed to do the tower, the force knocks him back right into Sheriff who puts a parking boot on him immediately.

"GOTCHA YA, you tall-spoilered punk." Sheriff growled.

"Aw man!" Wingo groaned.

DJ raced into Lizzie's postcard store not realizing how small it was inside and rammed into a large table containing many postcards, the table broke and the postcards went scattering all over the store and outside.

"UGH...oops. My bad." DJ said.

There was Lizzie just staring at him with a look that would give even Frank a nightmare.

"WHY YOU LITTLE-"

DJ literally goes flying when Lizzie punches him with a tire right out of the store. He hits the ground and skids over to Flo's where he stops next to a gas booth and immediately cables fly out from the around the booth and trap him inside. Sheriff manages to slip a parking boot on him.

"DARN!" DJ whined.

"Now where's the last one? And also, where are all these defense stuff coming from?" Sheriff asked.

Mater chuckles as he came over to tow DJ away.

"Oh you didn't know, we-"

"AAAAAAAA-CHOOOOOOOO!"

Everyone turned to see Snot Rod racing towards Red who was back to watering his flowers by the Firehouse. Snot Rod braked hard and managed to stop before hitting Red, however, the flowers were a different story. They both heard a crunch and looked down.

"Oops." Snot Rod cringed.

He had crushed all the flowers, fearing the worst, he slowly looked up at the big firetruck who was looking down at him with malice.

"Uh...sorry?"

All he got in response was a large blast of water sending him back down the street. Panicking, he veered left towards Willy's Butte. Sheriff and Lightning chased after him.

"Boy, I can handle this on my own." Sheriff snarled.

"Just want to make sure you can still drift." McQueen smirked.

"Ugh."

Snot Rod raced out onto the dirt track and sneezed again propelling him down the track and around the first turn. Sheriff and Lightning followed him down the track, Lightning wanting to keep a safe distance while Sheriff was right on the tuner's tailpipe. Making the first turn, Sheriff caught up with the delinquent who was getting close to the sharp turn.

"Oh this should be interesting, and for once it's not me." Lightning sighed.

Snot Rod however would shock them both for as he came towards the turn, he turned and drifted easily around the turn, looking back at sheriff giving him a smug grin. Sheriff gasped and nearly lost control just as he came towards the turn. Sheriff went to drift, but he did it completely wrong by only turning his tire instead of his body too. Lightning raced towards the turn as Sheriff flew off the cliff screaming and landed right in the cactus patch.

"OOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW!"

Lightning and Snot Rod both looked at each other and cringed.

"He can't drift?" Snot Rod asked.

"Apparently not." Lightning sighed.

"WELP, SEE YA!"

Snot Rod turned, only to face a gun...Holley's gun.

"Not one more move." Holley said.

Snot Rod went wide-eyed and said nothing as Mater came by to tow him.

"Thanks Holley!" Mater said.

"No problem Mater, hello again Lightning." Holly greeted.

"Hey Holley, glad you could be here." Lightning said.

"Wait, where did Sheriff go?" Mater asked.

"CAN SOMEONE HELP ME ALREADY?" Sheriff yelled.

"Oh."

Later, Sheriff was getting cacti sprayed off him by Red while Mater made sure all 4 tuners were locked up in the impound. Holley talked with everyone at Flo's.

"So how's Finn?" Lightning asked.

"Haven't heard from him in awhile, he's had a lot of missions lately. Leaving me to keep things going at C.H.R.O.M.E. HQ., how are the defense mechanisms I installed doing?"

"Very good, it caught the those three troublemakers." Flo said.

"Yeah, too bad they didn't get to see all of them, especially the one in my shop." Ramone evilly grinned.

"Well the town owes you for helping to upgrade our town." Sally smiled.

"No need Sally, just happy to help." Holley said.

Mater came up whooping and cheering.

"THAT'S MY GIRL!"

He nudged Holley's bumper making everyone awe and Holley blushed. Lightning tried to do the same to Sally who playfully bumped him.

"Nice try Stickers...not right now." She whispered that last part.

"Hey McQueen, we should double-date!" Mater suggested.

"Sounds like fun." Sally said.

"Yeah we can do that." Lightning agreed.

"Wonderful." Holley grinned.

Just then, a wet but catus-free Sheriff came over grumbling with Red behind him.

"Sheriff what happened back there, you almost had him yourself." Lightning said.

"I don't know, guess I just need another tune-up." Sheriff grumbled.

"Hah, I'll think you'll need more than that Sheriff." Mater laughed.

"What are you implying?"

Lightning rolled his eyes.

"Something tells me that double-date will involve an extra member."

Sheriff followed Lightning, Mater, Sally and Holley back over to Willy's Butte, though as much as he didn't want to go back, he knew the others wouldn't stop bugging him about it.

"So what do you want me to do?" Sheriff asked.

"Watch and learn." Lightning said.

Lightning headed onto the track and Mater nudged Holley.

"Just watch this right here Holley!"

Mater joined Lightning on the track and they raced towards the first turn.

"Boys." Sally and Holley rolled their eyes.

Sheriff watched as the two buddies were closing in on the sharp turn, and together they drifted perfectly around and back over to the others.

"Perfect, just like Doc did it." Lightning said.

"Yeah, he was the best at it though." Mater said.

"No kidding. So Sheriff, willing to try again?"

"Last time was only a little mistake, I'll show you I can do it just as good as anybody else!" Sheriff scoffed.

"Then show it."

Sheriff raced down the dirt road, doing good so far, he got through the first turn and was concentrating on when to turn. Since just turning his wheel didn't work, he shifted his body, then turned his wheel. The others watched in awe as Sheriff began to drift, but it didn't last when he realized he turned too early and smashed into a rock spinning him out and onto his side.

"OOOHHH!" The others gasped.

"That was...something." Sally said.

"Come on Sally, let's show these boys how we do it." Holley said.

"With pleasure."

Lightning and Mater looked at each other confused while the girls tore down the road, passing the first turn and speeding towards the drifting stage. Sheriff managed to get himself back on his wheels before being showered with dust by the girls who cheered as they drifted around the turn with no problem. Lightning and Mater ended up getting dirt all over them when the girls stopped just next to them.

"Nice." Lightning groaned.

"DA-GUM THAT WAS AWESOME!" Mater whooped.

"Not so bad yourself." Holley said.

"Yeah Stickers, Doc would be proud." Sally figured.

Sheriff growled and tried to do it again, and again...and again. No matter how many times he tried, he'd either spin out, crash into some brush or tip over. Eventually the other four decided to split upon Sheriff letting out a large amount of swearing.

"Ah, poor guy just needs to relax and focus." Mater said.

"Yeah I know, he's so aggressive." Lightning laughed.

"I'LL SHOW YOU AGGRESSIVE!"

The four go wide-eyed when they hear Sheriff putting on his siren and racing after them. He had a death stare going on as he charged them.

"RUN!" Mater yelled.

"Shouldn't I just taze him?" Holley asked.

"NO TIME!" Sally yelled.

The four race back to town with an enraged Sheriff right behind them still blaring his siren. Everyone in town heard them coming, including the tuners who watched from the Impound as the 5 blurred by, however, Sheriff accidentally ran over the switch opening the gate freeing them.

"Sweet." Wingo nodded.

"Maybe we should split yo!" DJ said.

"No way! Come on guys, I want to see where this is going!" Boost smirked.

"But-"

"Come on!" Boost cuts off Snot Rod.

The rest of the townsfolk watched in horror as Lightning, Mater, Sally, and Holley raced past followed by Sheriff, and eventually the Tuners.

"Welp, I've seen enough for today." Mack said driving to somewhere else in the town.

Mia and Tia thought the Tuners were after Lightning so they immediately went on the offense and chased after them.

"SAVE LIGHTNING!" Mia yelled.

"KILL THOSE 4 PUNKS!" Tia yelled.

Everyone else was stuck in silence for a few seconds before they all decided to separate to their own homes, still silent. Meanwhile, the massive chase continued up Tailfin Pass, everyone either laughing, yelling or swearing. This was Holley's first time racing through this section, unfortunately she couldn't top to see the sights. The whole group raced through the forest, around some curves, through a tunnel and past the massive waterfall. Sheriff finally managed to grab a hold of Mater's hook.

"AAAAAHHHHHHH! HE'S GOT ME!" Mater yelled.

"Now can I taze him?" Holley asked.

"No!" McQueen and Sally said.

"Oh he's gonna thrash that towtruck!" Boost laughed.

"They're gonna thrash Lightning!" The twins snarled.

Things took a turn for the worst when they reached Wheel Well. They were all coming in too fast, Lightning, Sally and Holley had to drift around and avoid the cliff. Mater had been trying to pry Sheriff of his hook and when he went to drift, Sheriff lost his grip and was steering towards the cliff.

"SHERIFF!" Lightning yelled.

"OH NO!" Sally yelled!"

"OH DEAR!" Holley yelled.

"DRIFT SHERIFF DRIFT!" Mater yelled.

Sheriff shut his eyes, shifted his body and turned his tires, and in a shock to everyone, he drifted successfully just barely avoiding the edge. He got back onto the road and screeched to a stop.

"Hah! I did it! I finally did it!" Sheriff smirked.

The four cheered, but the praise was immediately halted when the tuners came racing over, well three of them at first. Boost, DJ and Wingo managed to stay on the road, but Snot Rod wasn't so lucky. He sneezed at the wrong time and went racing for the edge.

"NO NO NO NO NO!" Snot Rod yelled.

"SNOTS!" His friends yelled.

Sheriff had an idea and raced towards Snot Rod who had his eyes shut. A second later Snot Rod felt himself halt so fast he nearly gagged. Looking behind him he saw he had a parking boot on. Sheriff rode up beside him, Snot Rod looked traumatized, he had every right to be. He didn't even notice Sheriff next to him who whispered...

"You're under arrest."

Mater immediately hooked him up from behind, the other three attempted to escape, but Holley pointed her tazer gun at Boost.

"I don't think so." Holly growled.

Boost laughed.

"Hah, you wouldn't have the-"

Boost is immediately tazed and falls on his side out cold. Holly then turns to DJ and Wingo.

"You two want to be next?"

Before the two could respond, Mia and Tia came racing at them from behind and smashed into their backs jolting them forwards, losing control and landing on their sides.

"AW MAN I JUST REPLACED THAT SUBWOOFER!" DJ whined.

"NO MY SPOILER IS CRACKED AGAIN!" Wingo whined.

"That's Mia and Tia for ya!" Lightning chuckled.

The twins bumped tires before heading over to Sally.

"Nice job you two." Sally said.

"Thanks!" Mia said.

"Nobody messes with Lightning." Tia winked at the race car.

Later back in town, the tuners were put back in the Impound awaiting a court date while everyone else gathered back at Flo's Cafe where Sheriff began to boast about how he finally managed to drift and save Snot Rod. Meanwhile Lightning, Mater, Sally and Holley returned to Wheel Well that night for a redo of their double date.

"Sorry this backfired earlier." Lightning said.

"Are you kidding, that was an exciting time." Sally said.

"Even though we got chased by an angry sheriff, some customized hot rodders and insane twins?" Mater asked.

"Even that." Holley said.

Lightning and Mater looked at each other with blank stares before Lightning sighed.

"Well at least now we can relax."

"Yeah, for at least an hour..."Mater looked up into the sky.

"What happens in an hour?" Sally asked.

Mater and Holley evilly grinned at the other couple, specifically Sally.

"Oh, since you didn't get to train at C.H.R.O.M.E. like the rest of us...we're headed back to London to do more training." Mater explained.

"SAY WHAT?" Sally yelled.

 **THE END!**

 **The sequel "Monster Girl" will come after Cars 3 this June! KA-CHOW!**


End file.
